Map courtesy of NequetteArchitecture & Design with adjustment by Hoover Sun
The Hoover City Council has annexed 169 acres between Trace Crossings and Blackridge and South Shades Crest Road (shown in brown) and will be combining it with 162 acres from Blackridge to create a new development called Collier Valley with 331 homes and 150,000 square feet of commercial space.
The city of Hoover is continuing its expansion to the west with a recent annexation of 169 acres between Blackridge, Trace Crossings and South Shades Crest Road, owned by Signature Homes.
The plan is to add 162 acres from Blackridge to the 169 acres and build 331 homes and as much as 150,000 square feet of commercial space in a development to be called Collier Valley.
Some residents bemoan further expansion of the city, saying it will strain Hoover schools and city services already under pressure. But proponents of the annexation say there are several benefits.
For one, the annexed property includes land that formerly was home to the Brock’s Gap Training Center shooting range, which had been troublesome for numerous nearby Hoover residents for years, Council President John Lyda said.
“The neighborhood had encroached on the gun club for years,” Lyda said. “It was important to bring that property into the city to give residents around that gun club an opportunity to really get some relief from it, and Signature did a fantastic job of helping find property and relocating them to a new location. … It was really a win-win-win — a win for the gun club, a win for Signature and a win for the city.”
School system leaders told city officials that schools in that area have capacity for any students that would be generated from Collier Valley, and the city has shown its ability to change and adapt city services as the city grows, Lyda said.
Additionally, city leaders for years have been trying to find an alternative route for traffic to get from the back side of Trace Crossings and Blackridge other than Stadium Trace Parkway, and this plan provides that route, Lyda said.
“The fact that Signature Homes is willing to construct that and give both the county and the city residents access to it is a huge win for the city and our residents and those who travel through the city,” he said.
Signature bought the 102 acres that housed the gun club in October 2023 for $6.5 million, Signature CEO Jonathan Belcher said.
Signature is agreeing to build most of the western bypass road that eventually will stretch from Morgan Road, also known as Shelby County 52, to South Shades Crest Road near Brock’s Gap Parkway. The bypass road would hook into the new Interstate 459 Exit 9 that is in advanced planning stages, providing another way for traffic to get from Morgan Road to I-459 other than South Shades Crest Road and Morgan Road.
Signature Homes also has agreed to build a stub road that connects to Blackridge Parkway, providing another way for people who live in Blackridge and Lake Wilborn to get to I-459 other than Stadium Trace Parkway.
The total cost of this portion of the bypass road and connector road is expected to cost more than $20 million, and Signature Homes is seeking a mine reclamation grant through the Alabama Department of Labor to help pay for it, Belcher said.
Signature already has received “level one” approval from the state for the grant, but not final approval, he said. If Signature cannot get that grant, the company won’t be able to build the bypass road by itself and will return to the city of Hoover for assistance in paying for it, he said. But he remains hopeful, he said.
Belcher said he was told by the state in January it normally takes nine to 18 months to get through the second phase of approval, so he hopes to get an answer sometime between October 2025 and July 2026.
As soon as he gets approval for the mine reclamation grant, he will be ready to begin building the bypass and connector road, he said. The road will have two lanes, but there will be enough right of way reserved to expand to four lanes if ever deemed necessary, Belcher said.
The section of the bypass road that Signature so far has agreed to build will end just north of the railroad tracks that separate Blackridge from the “South Blackridge” property, said Ken Grimes, Hoover's city administrator. A condition in the annexation agreement approved by the City Council is that Signature will not be required to build another bridge over railroad tracks. The company already has built two railroad crossings for Blackridge.
Map courtesy of Nequette Architecture & Design
The 331 homes planned for Collier Valley are expected to include a mixture of single-family detached homes, townhomes and up to 40 multi-family units in a mixed-use area. On this map, the bypass road will go to the left toward South Shades Crest Road. The connector road to Stadium Trace Parkway and Blackridge North is at the top left, and a future connection to Blackridge South is at the top right.
The 331 homes planned for Collier Valley are expected to include a mixture of single-family detached homes, townhomes and up to 40 multi-family units in a mixed-use area, but it could be two years before Signature Homes is ready to come forward with a zoning plan for consideration by the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission, Belcher said.
Signature Homes would contribute a $3,000 “special school fee” to the city for each home, according to the agreement.
The commercial space (up to 150,000 square feet) is expected to include “planned office,” “planned commercial” and mixed-use zoning, much like is in Knox Square and will be in Everlee, Belcher said.
When city officials in late 2020 unveiled plans for the western bypass road, it included plans for an “innovation employment center” for science, technology, engineering and math-related companies along the road. Belcher said his plan still fits within that concept as far as the commercial part of Collier Valley is concerned.
Signature Homes’ plan also would take the existing emergency road, formerly known as the Brock’s Gap gun club road, and turn it into a paved pedestrian and bike trail, Belcher said.
The new bypass road also would cross the historic “Brock’s Gap cut” railbed, considered by history buffs to be a treasure worth saving, but Belcher said the plan is to make the bypass road cross the cut at a point that minimizes the impact and saves the vast majority of the cut.
If Signature Homes within three years does not get a zoning plan approved similar in nature to the design concept currently proposed, the annexation of the 169 acres would be declared null and void.
Also, after the 162 acres is removed from Blackridge and added to Collier Valley, there still will be 1,400 total acres in Blackridge, and the number of homes approved for Blackridge would remain at 854, Belcher said.
The annexation of the 169 acres was approved in a 6-0 vote of the Hoover City Council. Approving it were council members Lyda, Curt Posey, Sam Swiney, Casey Middlebrooks, Derrick Murphy and Khristi Driver.
Councilman Steve McClinton was the only councilman not in attendance.
